Unique contest sees Devon students tackle global issues
Young people from Devon developed solutions to major global environmental issues in a unique school competition run by the Ted Wragg Trust.
More than 50 students from schools in Exeter and Plymouth took part in the first Ted Wragg Trust Innovation Competition, tackling the complex issues of sustainable transport links and the problem of microplastics.
Seven schools presented their ideas at celebration event at Exeter College Institute of Technology. West Exe School won the competition with their AE-Mission Filter which aims to make vehicles that people use on a daily basis sustainable, offsetting the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that a vehicle is responsible for. Exwick Heights took the runner up position for their Beeswax Food Wraps which had a strong reuse, reduce and recycle message.
The groups developed their ideas as part of the Trust-wide contest, which aimed to discover students who demonstrate an aptitude for finding innovative solutions to challenging issues and using technology to make the world a better place.
Students, aged from eight to 15, from Marine Academy Primary, Plymouth and Exeter schools - Whipton Barton, West Exe, St Luke’s, Exwick Heights, Isca Academy, and St James School, all entered the competition.
Tim Rutherford, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at theTed Wragg Trust, said: “At our ambitious and inclusive Trust of schools, we want to encourage our students to ‘think globally’ and to engage with the problems we are all facing as a society. Our young people will be the decision makers of the future and it was great to see the results of this challenge, where they worked together and thought creatively to try and solve these issues.
“Right across the Ted Wragg Trust, we hear from our students about their concerns for the environment and the future of the planet, and this is one way of helping them to get their voices heard. As a Trust we believe in the power of education to transform lives, strengthen communities, to make the world a better place which is emphasised by this competition.”
Tim added: “We are delighted to have worked with Exeter College and other partners in industry on this competition.”
The competition was run in collaboration with the South West Institute of Technology and Exeter College. The celebration event took place at Exeter college’s Institute of Technology with an inspirational keynote from James Court, Local Enterprise Manager, at NatWest Group followed by teams presenting their ideas to the judging panel. The students then had the opportunity to try out the virtual reality suite and a tour around the high-tech IoT building. The afternoon concluded with a motivating keynote from Anthony Martin, Digital Innovation & Engagement Manager at Exeter College. Tim Rutherford, Deputy CEO at the Ted Wragg Trust and competition lead Gary King had the privilege of announcing and presenting the awards.
The competition has brought together business and education, with mentors supporting the development of the concepts from an industry perspective. The mentors include Charlotte Hoffmann from Amazon Logistics Community Operations, and Anthony Martin from Exeter College.
The prestigious panel of judges included - Rob Bosworth, Vice Principal and Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Exeter College; Katie Gaulton, Head of Marketing and Communications for Exeter College, Officer of Exeter Science Park; Ash Roots, Chief Digital Officer at Exeter University and Andrew Pooley, CEO of ERS Medical.
Gary King, Director of Creative Technologies at West Exe School and project lead for the Innovations Competition, said: I’ve been very excited to see how students tackle one of two very big problems, which are not only global issues currently, but directly affect our local region too; Microplastics in our oceans and sustainable transport links to Plymouth and Exeter.
“The Ted Wragg Innovation Competition is a fantastic and unique challenge for our students to bring fresh ideas to big problems, which great minds and organisations are also currently attempting to address and develop solutions for on a global scale. Working in this real-world context offers students a chance to stretch their thinking beyond the confines of the curriculum and really bring together all aspects of their learning such as; problem solving, team work/collaboration, the ability to analyse and evaluate, applying knowledge in new situations, calculated risk-taking, entrepreneurial thinking and presentation skills to name but a few.”
The Innovation Competition 2023 will launch in September and will be bigger and better as it goes into its second year. For more information on this year’s teams and entries please visit https://www.tedwraggtrust.co.uk/innovation-competition-2022/
